When we think of depression, we often associate it with unhappiness. When you then think about the depression characteristics which you would expect, the following characteristics are likely to pop into your head:
- Unhappiness or a poor mood
- Crying often
- Suicidal tendencies
- Lying in bed
The previous symptoms are indeed depression characteristics. These symptoms also contain the most important depression characteristics. Yet, we should not generalize here and say that everyone with depression experiences these depression characteristics.
Depression characteristics? When may we speak of a depression diagnosis?
If you are looking for a diagnosis at the hand of depression characteristics, then you should know that there are certain diagnostic tools in psychology and psychiatrics which say that one may only be diagnosed with depression when more than 5 depression characteristics are present.
Depression characteristics? What are depression characteristics?
To give you insight into when you might be depressed, we list the depression characteristics below.
- Somber, overwhelming feeling
- Difficulties with experiencing joy, even when you find something funny
- Sleeping problems: issues falling asleep and getting a full night's sleep
- Worrying
- Isolation: from friends, family, and others
- Inactivity: you prefer not to do anything at all during the day
- Crying fits: more frequent than normal
- Disturbed eating patterns: you either hardly eat at all anymore, or you eat way too much
- Low self-esteem
- Feelings of guilt: you feel guilty easily and think that many things are your fault
Depression characteristics? Do you have fewer than 5 depression characteristics?
If you experience fewer than 5 of the above depression characteristics, are you then still under a depression diagnosis? According to he DSM you then no longer fall into the category of diagnosed depression. It is then useful to ask yourself the question: 'Does a diagnosis help me to get motivated to get help?' If the diagnosis of depression is received, this can give you an extra push into the right direction toward looking for help, but does this mean that you may not look for help when you experience fewer than 5 depression characteristics? The DSM is one of the most well-known manuals. The DSM handles the rule of 5 depression characteristics, but other diagnostic tools use different rules. That is why there is a lot of controversy when it comes to what a 'diagnosis' actually entails. Furthermore, people get the feeling that they are placed into a box.
Depression characteristics? Do you need motivation?
What the paragraphs above want to tell you is that whether or not you have a diagnosis is not something which should influence your will to get help. If you have the feeling that you are suffering from certain symptoms, it is useful to get help. By getting help, you are actively working on your depression characteristics, and you might find out about new links, which yu have never seen before.
Depression characteristics? Treating depression characteristics?
If you want to take the step toward getting help and to treating your depression characteristics, you can look for a suitable type of treatment for you. If you are still unsure or find that the step toward getting help is too big, the online self-help program by 15 Minutes 4 Me might be useful for you. The program was inspired by therapeutic techniques to once again bring life into your abilities to choose and your capacities. You are actually the boss of your mind and body.
Depression characteristics? Take the depression test!
Would you like to know which depression characteristics are applicable to you? Then take our free online depression test here!
